Missing man may be connected to Virginia Beach Fishing Pier crash, police say
Virginia Beach police postponed the recovery of the SUV that crashed off the Virginia Beach Fishing Pier over the weekend.
Portsmouth-based Crofton Industries has been aiding the department with removing the vehicle from the ocean, where it has been since Saturday morning. Crofton Industries indicated recovery was “not permissible” Tuesday due to weather and water conditions.
Virginia Beach police said the case of a missing man “has many similarities” to the circumstances of Saturday’s crash at the Virginia Beach Fishing Pier.
Police posted an update on X, formerly known as Twitter, stating the department had been contacted by the man’s family. His identity has not been released.
Here’s what we know — and don’t — about the Virginia Beach Fishing Pier crash
Police said they could not confirm whether the cases are connected, and the salvage efforts have not identified the license plate number on the SUV.
The first call came in at 6:52 a.m. for a car that went through the end of the wooden pier off 15th Street at the Oceanfront. The driver is presumed dead, but police are still working on a plan to remove the vehicle.
Weather and water conditions halted efforts for recovery. Authorities cited visibility and safety issues for divers and remote-controlled devices. The currant was moving four times the threshold for safe diving, and remote devices could not stay stationary in positions to get images.
“If you’re standing at the Oceanfront and that current hits you and you get knocked off your feet while you’re standing in your bathing suit, imagine wearing 90 pounds of diving equipment and being tethered to me topside, so that I can communicate with you while you’re down in zero visibility,” said Sgt. Brian Ricardo of the VBPD.
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The vehicle, which is on its roof, poses a risk of entanglement, he said. Divers can get pinned under the SUV, which is swaying with the current, and tethers could get caught on other obstacles.
Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer said Tuesday afternoon that he’s aware of the challenges the divers face.
“We want to get this right,” Dyer said. “Be assured this is a very high priority right now.”
Ricardo said the car is still a crime scene, and officials will presume there is a body inside the SUV until proven otherwise. Police say they can not go in and remove the body on its own in order to protect the investigation.
“We want to leave it encapsulated as best we can because when you open up that portal to the ocean, we’re going to lose evidence,” Ricardo said. “That’s what we don’t really want to do is lose evidence, but if we have to, then that’s what we do. It’s also part of our job because all of us want to go in and get them, but we know as investigators that we have to we have to make those tough decisions.”
Eliza Noe, eliza.noe@virginiamedia.com
Staff writer Stacy Parker contributed to this report.
